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HIV transmission through sharing a joint

Hi, Actually Im worried about the scenario that happened with me. So me and my buddy were sharing a joint together and my buddy is sexually very active and had sex with a lot of strangers so I don’t know if he’s HIV positive or not. Actually what happened was that we were in the car and he ignited the joint and took 4-5 puffs from it and then passed it to me right away . I smoked a lot instantly and then same thing passed it to him he smoked and finally I finished the joint. after that we went home and I saw that my buddy has a cut on his lip with blood on it. moreover he might have cuts or sores in his mouth and blood from his lips or mouth may have got onto the joint while sharing the joint back and forth twice and entered in my mouth when I smoked the joint. Thing is I have bleeding gums and blood from the joint may have came in contact with my gums and entered in my bloodstream. My gums doesn’t bleed profusely but still bleeds sometimes here and there. so my question is what are the chances of getting HIV from the scenario explained? Im really really really worried.

Answer:

Hello,

Thank you for your inquiry. From what we gather from the question, you were asking about acquiring HIV through taking blood into the mouth via sharing a joint. From the information given, this scenario is determined to be Negligible Risk (There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission).

The scenario mentioned above does not meet the three components of the transmission equation. The transmission equation requires bodily fluids from HIV positive individual to come into contact with a HIV negative individual through a high risk activity with direct access to the bloodstream (1). In this scenario an exchange of blood through a low risk activity of sharing a joint with direct access to the bloodstream of bleeding gums has a potential for HIV transmission because of the exchange of bodily fluids (1). High risk activities include: unprotected sex, sharing needles, unsafe tattoos or piercings, vertical transmission–from mother to child (in utero, during delivery, breastfeeding) (1). A quote from CDC to consider is that "HIV does not survive long outside the human body (such as on surfaces), and it cannot reproduce outside a human host" (2). This would suggest that the exchange of blood on to the joint then passed from the joint to you would expose the blood to oxygen which quickly renders HIV inactive (2).

Recommendation: There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission refer to Physician for more personalized answers.

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